Machine for stretching hat blanks



July 16, 1935. w. cu 2,008,638

MACHINE FOR STRETCHING HAT BLANKS Filed Feb. 18, 1933 2 Sheets-$heet 1NVENTQR;

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MACHINE FOR STRETCHING HAT- BLANKS Filed Feb. 18, 3.933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Patented July 16, 1935 UNITED STATE MACHINE FOR STRETCHING HAT BLANKSGeorge W. Cuming, New York, N. Y., assignor to M. A. Cuming & 00., Inc.,New corporation of New York York, N. Y., a

Application February 18, 1933, Serial No. 657,395 11 Claims (01.223-33)This invention relates to a machine for stretching hat blanks, and anobject of the invention 7 is to provide a simple. practical andeflicient machine which may be employed for the quick; easy .5 andconvenient stretching of hat blanks from their crude initial shapes intoshapes suitable for expeditious and proper shaping in other machines towhich the blanks are passed after being operated upon by the presentmachine.

. A further object is to provide a machinewhich will include astretching head over which the hat blank may be drawn and held by handduring the stretching operation. V A further object is to so constructthe machine that .the stretching operation may be performed par ly bythe hands of, the, operator and partly as the result ofpressure appliedand controlle by means of a foot lever or the like... v A further objectis to soconstruct the machine- 1 that it will include means to applysteam to the hat blank during thegstretohing operation.

A further object is to so construct the machine that the supply of steamwill be under the convenient control bythe operator through themedium'of a foot leverpreferably associated with the blank stretchingfoot lever.

Afurther object is to so construct the machine that the stretching ofthe hat blank will be uniform in all radial directions. 7

A further object is to so construct the machine that the shape of thestretching head thereof may be altered at will. I

Other objects and aims of the invention, more or less specific thanthose referred to above,.will be in part obvious and in part pointed outin the course of the following description of the elements,combinations, arrangements of parts and applications of principlesconstituting the invention; and the scope of protection contemplatedwillbe indicated in the appended claims. Inthe accompanying drawingswhich are tobe taken as a part of this specification, and in which Ihave shown merely a preferred'form of "embodiment of the invention: Fig.I is a side elevational view of a machine constructed in accordance withthis invention and showing a hat blank in dotted lines as it appears inposition over the stretching head] of the' machine.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View substantially upon the plane of lineII-II of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3' is a horizontal sectional view upon the plane of line IIIIII ofFig. 2 and looking in.

plane of line IV-IV of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of thearrows.

Referring to the drawings for describing in detailthe structure which isillustrated therein, the reference character L indicates a main frameincluding a top or platform portion I. and suitable legs- 22forsupporting the platform I spaced a suitable distance above the floor3. Mounted centrally upon the upper surface of the platform I isa shortpedestal G at the upperend of which is carried the'stretching head H.

The stretching head illustrated in the drawings consists of a pluralityof separatesegments as 4 4 collectively of a generally invertedsemispherical contour, thoughit will be understood tical axis of thepedestal, as most clearly indicatedin Fig. 3, so that the severalsegments are free to swingtoward. and away from each. other about theirrespective pivots, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2. i

- When the several segmentsare in their closed positions theycompleteaproper form to initially receive the-hat blank thereover, asindicated by the dot and dash line in Fig. 1, and when they are swungoutwardly from this closed position they operate to stretch the hatblank radially, the lower, edge portion of theblank being meanwhile heldbythe' operators hands as indicated- The manner of detachably-connectingthe segments i- -lwith their carriers 55 may take any desired form, but-in--the instance illustrated the segments: are merely detachably boltedto said carrierasby means of the bolts8-8 illustrated which extendthrough the upper wall of the carrier, and engage within threadedapertures provided in the lower wall portions of the segments,respectively. Whenever it is desired to substitute a different shape ofstretching head it is merely necessary to remove the bolts 8 and returnthem. again for holding. the substitute head segments upon the carriers.

I The means employed for swinging the head segments 4-4 may take anydesired form, but that" illustrated includes a plurality of draw rods-as3-4? pivotally connected' at their upper ends as lever may be depressedat the will of the operator,v Depression of the lever I causes all ofthe rods 9 to move downwardly in unison and to swing apart the segmentsl accordingly,

A tension spring is is fixed to. the upper end of 2 the central draw rodl3 and has its opposite end fixed as at is so that said spring operatesatall times to urge the plate l2 and hence the rods 9,

upwardly for holding the segments 4 normally.

in closed position. V 7

Suitable meansrnay be employed ior'providing adjustment of the severalpartspresentI In the structure illustrated for instanceihe rod I3 islongitudinally adjustable as by means of the threaded extensionpiece 20thereon, so'as thereby to provide adjustment of the tension 'ofspringi3.- Also, the plate i2 is adjustablelongitudinally of the rod i3, as bymeans of the oppositely positioned holding nuts 2i and 22 threaded uponsaid rod and engaging the upper and lower surfaces respectively of theplate, therebyto adjustably move all of the segments 44 as may bedesired. Also, the length of the respectiverods 8 is adjustable as bymeans of the threaded extension pieces 23-23 at the ends thereof, thesepiecespermitting of adjustment of the position-of the several segments44 with respect to each other, and said pieces 23, as well as theextension piece 23, providing convenient means of pivotal mounting ofsaid pieces as illustrated.

Means is provided for supplying steam within the stretching head 1-1;This means 'may take any desired form or it may include any" preferredconstruction of parts, butin the instance herein illustrated it consistsof a steam jet '24 mounted ithin the head H, being screwed into theupper end of a central cavity 25 provided in the-pedestal G and havingone or more outlet'openings as 26 by which steam from the 'cavityi25 mayflow into the interior of the head H. A feed pipe 2! communicates withthe' cavity 25 through a suitable opening as at 28, and this feed pipeis fitted with a valve 29 which is nor-' mally closed but which isadapted to be manually operated into open position whenever steam isdesired within the head H. I

The valve stem as 30 is'normallyforced upwardly into valve closingposition, by suitable spring mechanism within the valve, notillustrated, and alever 3! is arranged for engaging the upper end ofthis stern operable to-press the stem downwardly whenever steam isdesired.

The lever 3! is pivotally'mounted by one'end as at 32 adjacent to'thestem 30, and its other end is engaged by a link 33 which extendsdownwardly into pivotal engagement with an auxiliary foot lever 35.

The foot lever 35 is pivotally mounted, preferably upon the lever l5 asby the pivot member I4, and its free end is formed with a foot receivingtreadle portion 36 disposed adjacent to the treadle portion l l and bywhich the lever 35 may be pressed downwardly to open the valve 29 at anytime. Y

It is noted that the foot treadle portion 36 may stand directly, orpartially, above the foot treadle portion 11, so that the operator inpressing down the treadle 36 will, by the same foot movement, press downalso the treadle ll after the treadle has reached the horizontal planeof the treadle ll. The depression of the lever 35 by the treadle wherebythe steam valve 29 will be opened, also causes the depression of thelover I5 whereby the segments constituting the stretching head are movedto form openings therein so that steam is admitted to the head duringthe opening of the segments. If the treadle 3E5 overlies all or anyportion of the treadle ll the downward movement of the treadle 36 beyonda given point will positively require the treadle I? to begin down- Wardmovement with it, while if the treadle 3B is slightly to one side of thevertical plane of the treadle ll the operators foot may if desiredproject from the treadle 36 so as to engage and press down the treadle36 whenever the treadle 35 is moved downwardly beyond theplane of the Inany eventthe treadle 36 may be treadle ii. moved downwardly to thehorizontal plane of the treadle I! for thereby admitting steam into thehead H at any time and for-any period regardless of' whether or not thetreadle I1 is pressed downwardly. I

' Usually, in practice, however, the operator presses down the treadle35 until it meets the treadle I 1, thereby admittingthe steam into thehead H, and he then continues downward move} ment of both 'treadles toefiect' the stretching movement of the segments of the head while asupply of steam is still being adrm'tted into the head. v

The steam within the head not only heats the material of the segments ofthe head, and thereby heats the-hat material being stretched, but italso'fiows outwardly into direct contact with the material of the hatblank thereby moistening and further heating said material, this beinghighly desirable in order that a quick and proper stretching of the hatmaterial can be effected.

The steam from within the head may find its way"outwardly of the headinto engagement with the material of the hat blank through the cracksbetween the head sections, but if desired the segments maybe providedwith suitable steam outlet apertures therethrough as 3l31.

' Water of condensation may be conveniently collected and drawn'ofi fromthe bottom of the cavity 25 as by means of a pipe 38 at the outer end ofwhich is a valve controlled drain outlet 39 disposed in an out of theway position at one side of the machine. i

.The mechanism as herein shown and described is simple, practical,substantial and highly efiicient for its purpose. To use it, an operatormerely takes an ordinary hat blank in his two hands and draws itdownlover the head 1-1 after themanner graphicallyillustrated in Fig. 1.While thus, drawing the blank over the head he presses down the foottreadle 3'5v to admit steam into the head and into contact with thematerial of the blank, and he continues the downward movement of hisfoot to move the treadle Il' down for forcing the head segments apart intheir respective radial directions. The force with which the headsections move apart is tempered andcontr'olled by the operators foot andthe efiect upon the hat blank is at the same time controlled bymanipulation of the blank in the operators two hands. By slightlyvarying the direction and the strength of the down pull by the handsatdifferent intervals, meanwhile. re-

taining the flow of steam more or less constant,

the hat blank will be readily transformed from.

its original crude pyrimidal shape into a shape more suitably adaptedtofinal shaping in a hat: finishing machine. The hat blank is at no timefastened in position upon the machine, but is always carried and handledin the operator-s. hands from the moment he receives it until hehascompleted his operation upon it and has passed iton for completion by ahat finishing machine; and thus the stretching and shaping of the hatblank out of itsoriginal crude condition may be performed mostexpeditiously and at small cost.

As many changes could be made in this construction without departingfrom the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims, itis intended that all matter contained in the above description, or shownin the accompanying drawings, shall be interpreted as illustrative onlyand not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:-

l. A machine for stretching hat blanks comprising a head over which ahat blank may be drawn, said head comprising a plurality of sectionsmovable relative to each other for stretching the hat blank, a foottreadle depressib-le to so move said sections, a, steam supply forsupplying steam into contact with the hat blank, and a second foottreadle mounted above the first foot treadle and depressible to thelevel of the first foot treadle and further depressible with the firstfoot treadle, thereby to effect admission of the steam to the hat blankprior to the stretching operation and to continue admission of the steamduring the stretching operation.

2. A machine for stretching hat blanks comprising a head over which ahat blank may be drawn, said head comprising a plurality of segmentsmounted to move in diirerent radial directions with respect to a commoncenter, control means for so moving said segments, and means connectedto be operated by said control means for supplying steam intov said headduring the movement of said segments.

3. A machine for stretching hat blanks comprising a head over which ahat blank may be drawn, said head comprising a plurality of segmentsmounted to move indifferent radial direc tions with respect to a commoncenter, means to admit steam into said head including a movable lever,and other means movable to thereby move said segments said other meansbeing disposed in the path of movement of said lever so as to be movedby movement of said lever.

l. A machine for stretching hat blanks comprising a head over which ahat blank may be drawn, said head comprising a plurality of sectionsmovable relative to each other for stretching the hat blank, carryingmeans for said head by which said head is supported in position toreceive a hat blank drawn downwardly about said head, means manuallycontrollable to move said sections toward and away from each other, saidsections and said carrying means co-operating to define a steam cavitybetween them, and said carrying means having a steam admission passagetherethrough through which steam may be fed into said cavity for contactwith the hat blank during movement of the sections, and means wherebysteam may be caused to flow through said: passage andv into. said.cavity incident to movement of the sections. 7

5. A machine .for stretching hat blanks comprising ahead overwhich a hatblank maybe drawn, saidhe'ad comprising apluralityv of segmentspivotally mountedv to swing apart in different radial directions withrespect to a common center, a plurality of rods pivotally connected onewith each of said segments for swinging. said. segments respectively, aplate to which said rods collectively are pivotally connected, a springconnected with said plate for urging said plate andpsaid rods inadirection to swing said Segments toward saidcommon center, and alever,Connected with saidplate operableto, move said plate and rods againstthe tension of said spring to swing saidv segments, away from. saidcommon center, together with means by which to at once adjust thetension of said spring and also the position of said plate with respectto said lever.

6. A machine for sretching hat blanks comprising a head over which a hatblank may be drawn, said head comprising a plurality of segmentspivotally mounted to swing apart in different radial directions withrespect to a common center, a plurality of rods pivotally connected onewith each of said segments for swinging said segments respectively, aplate to which said rods collectively are pivotally connected, a springconnected with said plate for urging said plate and said rods in adirection to swing said segments toward said common center, and a leverconnected with said plate operable tomove said plate and rods againstthe urge of said spring to swing said segments away from said common 7.A machine for stretching hat blanks com prising a head over which a hatblank may be drawn, said head comprising a plurality of sectionsnormally abutting edge to edge but being movable relative to each otherout of abutting relation for stretching the hat blank, said sectionscollectively. defining a steam cavity between them having steam outletsbetween the abutting edges of said sections which enlarge as thesections move apart, means for so moving said sections, and means tosupply steam into said cavity for contact with the hat blank throughsaid outlets. Y a

8. A machine for stretching hat blanks comprising a head over which ahat blank may be drawn, said head comprising a plurality of segmentsmounted for movement toward and away from a common center, a lever bywhich to so move said segments, a steam supply for supplying steam tothe hat blank on said head, and a control for said steam supplyincluding an operating member operatively associated with said lever sothat operation thereof will operate said lever tov move said segments. a

9. A machine for stretching hat blanks comprising a head over which ahat blank may be drawn, said head comprising a plurality of sectionsnormally abutting edge to edge but being movable relative to each otherout of abutting relation i or stretching the hat blank, said sectionscollectively defining a steam cavity between them having steam outletsbetween 'the abutting edges of said sections which enlarge as thesections move apart, means for so moving said sections, and

means to insure a supply of steam within said cavity incident to movingapart of the sections.

10. A machine for stretching hat blanks comprising a head over which ahat blank may be tions collectively defining a steam cavity between themhaving steam outlets between the abutting edges of said sections whichenlarge as the sections move apart, means for so moving said sections,and means whereby movement of said sections apart will produce a supplyof steam within said cavity for movement through said outlets.

11. A machine for stretching hat blanks comprising a" head over which ahat blank may be drawn, said head comprising a plurality of segmentspivotally mounted to swing apart in different radial directions withrespect to a common center, an upstandingpedestal at the upper end ofwhich said head is disposed in position to receive a hat blank held byhand and drawn downwardly about said head, means manually operable toswing said segments toward and away from each other, said segments andpedestal co-operating to define a steam cavity between them, and meansconnected to be operated by said segment swinging means to supply steaminto said cavity for contact with the hat blank during swinging of thesegments.

GEORGE W. CUMING.

